How to secure your company’s IT systems like a boss

I’m sure you agree with me when I say that there is not a week that goes by when you don’t see an email or hear about cybersecurity.  More so, how cybercriminals have bled another victim dry of money.

In this article, I’m going to outline the three most effective ways to secure your IT systems in your business and your personal life.

As a bonus, I promise not to make this too technical.  You’ll even find out exactly why this need not cost a penny.

People are by far the weakest link in any small business IT systems.  You could invest hundreds or even thousands in a new IT security system.  Still, it could quite easily be bypassed by one of your colleagues that do not have an awareness of what to look out for in a classic phishing email.

Luckily, the solution is simple.  It also does not involve investment.

Time is the only investment.

Just make sure you are running regular lunch and learns with your current technology provider.  This can be as quick as a half-hour session.  You may go over the latest threats that may be landing in your inbox.  Your IT/Technology provider will have a good idea of what this looks like.  After all, they’re dealing with cyber threats daily and are “in the know” on what to look out for.

People are by far the weakest link in any small business IT systems.  You could invest hundreds or even thousands in a new IT security system.  Still, it could quite easily be bypassed by one of your colleagues that do not have an awareness of what to look out for in a classic phishing email.

Luckily, the solution is simple.  It also does not involve investment.

Time is the only investment.

Just make sure you are running regular lunch and learns with your current technology provider.  This can be as quick as a half-hour session to go over the latest threats that may be landing in your inbox.  Your IT/Technology provider will have a good idea of what this looks like.  After all, they’re dealing with cyber threats daily and are “in the know” on what to look out for.

Those in the know call this MFA or 2FA.  But we’re keeping this simple so multifactor login is a little more understandable.  It’s making sure any of the cloud services you are currently utilising are protected with two passwords and not just one.

This is implemented by having a standard password and a secondary password which is authorised by your smartphone.

Running either an app on your phone or a text message that asks you merely to approve/deny the login to your cloud service when you are at the login page. 

This is by far one of the best methods to protect against hackers.  Most hacks over the last 12 months have been to cloud services by cybercriminals pretending to login you into a genuine cloud service.  Without access to your smartphone, they don’t have a chance of bypassing this multifactor login security.

When I tell you about this next tip, you’re not going to believe how obvious it seems.  If your IT systems do become victim to an attack, you may find that the only way to recover your systems is by changing passwords and restoring your files from a backup.

We’ve seen this one too many times to count.  From clients coming over to us in the past when a ransom is asked for.

Their current IT provider fails at the most crucial stage and that is by backing up the company data correctly.

While the business may have backup software in place and it’s turned on, no one at the IT company has checked to see if files and data can be restored from the backup.  Such a simple thing that is missed out. 

Please make sure that you can restore from a recent backup.

These are just some of the most obvious tips I’ve outlined in this article.  If you’d like to hear about some other crucial steps you can implement in your business that don’t require massive investment, then please connect with us here.

Please email [email protected] or call 1300 766 455.